Sarah Shafer, Director

Sarah Shafer is a committed music educator and professional soprano whose career bridges solo performance and dedication to music education and choral excellence.

A longtime, passionate advocate for choral music, Sarah believes deeply in its power to inspire, connect, and transform. Her choral journey began in 1997 as one of the first members of the Nittany Valley Children’s Choir (NVCC), where she spent nine formative years. Today, she is honored to carry forward the legacy of her mother, Lou Ann Shafer—NVCC’s founding director—as a musical mentor and a champion of young voices. Sarah currently serves on the choral teaching staff at the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, PA, working with both elementary and high school choirs. She also serves as a member of the voice faculty at Elizabethtown College, emphasizing healthy technique and expressive artistry in her active studio.

As a performer, Sarah has appeared with some of the world’s leading opera companies, including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Glyndebourne, San Diego Opera, and Opera Philadelphia. She has sung in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. An active recitalist, she performs regularly with renowned pianist Richard Goode, with appearances at Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall, and major music festivals including Spoleto Festival USA and the Oregon Bach Festival. She holds degrees in voice and opera from the Curtis Institute of Music.

Dr. Timothy Shafer, Accompanist

Timothy Shafer has been with the choirs since his late wife Lou Ann founded it in 1997 and has loved every minute of it. Tim is an active pianist, performing regularly in solo recitals, concerto appearances, and chamber music ensembles in State College, and throughout the world. He has been on the piano faculty at the School of Music at Penn State since 1986, where he teaches piano, piano pedagogy, and group piano.

Tim is the recipient of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year award, and most recently was inducted into the 2025 Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame. He is featured on several CD albums, including Outstanding in Our Field, with violinist James Lyon, Rediscovered Gems, with clarinetist Anthony Costa, Abide with Me, with soprano Sarah Shafer and hornists Lisa Bontrager and Grace Salyards, and This Our Joyful Song, with the Nittany Valley Children’s Choir, Lou Ann Shafer conducting.

Tim earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in piano performance from Oberlin Conservatory, where he won the Rudolf Serkin Outstanding Pianist Award, and the Indiana University School of Music.